About ACU

THE FOUNDING GROUP

A group of Afrikans across the globe came together in April 2010 in London after a programme on Radio Galaxy and resolved that the way forward lies entirely in self-sufficiency and elected to create a co-operative union for Afrikans. Like the ants the group argued that there is no value in borrowing because to borrow puts the borrower at the mercy of the lender. They resolved that the funding for the Afrikan Co-operative Union Ltd has to come from issuance of shares sold to Afrikans of all income groups as an investment. Hence the cost of the share has to be low enough to attract the lowest paid.

The founding group was made up of 31 people, which was later trimmed to 9 as the interim executive.

The group does not claim originality because they are many pioneers before this group that have worked hard to bring unity and independence to the Afrikan people but without much success. Marcus Garvey and others have laid plans for Afrikans to work with but in vain.

The group resolved very early that instead of using all the seven – Nguzo Saba – principles the group elected to focus on one, namely, “to instil racial self-help” as to invigorate “economic independence” of the Afrikan people otherwise known as the Ujamaa principle. Through this principle, which is founded on the idea self-help or as in the story of the ants, the group seeks to make a profit for the benefit of the many.

Over the years, brothers and sisters have started organisations with a view to help the Afrikan people but floundered often by lack of clarity of purpose. Most end up treating the struggle as a job opportunity for themselves or an exclusive source of income for their families and friends. The project has and is bigger than any individual or group of people.

When recruitment is not done on the basis of competence the end result is an early death to an organisation because the people running the struggle lose focus and often will not accept criticism. This is particularly true of current Afrikan politics relying on recruiting on basis of loyalty rather than competence.

The group’s challenge was / is to persuade the Afrikan to invest in the Afrikan Co-operative Union Ltd where brother and sister have equal opportunity to influence the business of the Afrikan Co-operative Union Ltd. The group resolved that the role executive in the Afrikan Co-operative Union Ltd is to provide the vision.

The group recognised what everyone has known throughout the ages that success comes to those who agree to work together in numbers. There is no doubt that working together in unity as Afrikans “WE HAVE POTENTIAL” to succeed and the group took responsibility to see to it that we realise that potential as a people.

Historically throughout slavery and colonialism our people, generally, have waited for others to rescue them. Afrikans under dictatorships look to the USA and Europe for help. This has to end. We must find a way into believing that we have the capacity to solve our problems, which are informed mainly by economic considerations.

Here, we are with a new vehicle that is independent, developmental, modern and progressive. We have given it the rightful name, the Afrikan Co-operative Union. It belongs to its members and not to the founders or the Executive.

Some racists have perpetrated the lie that Afrikans cannot, for example, be trusted with money and many of our own people fully endorse this lie through their so-called education or religion with its image of God as white and Satan as black. Be that as it may the group sought to create a transparent organisation accountable to its membership, which amongst others:

Is developing a structure that meets the approval of the membership and the regulatory authorities;

Is developing a structure that records and monitors all financial transactions, which must be available for inspection, on demand, to the membership;

Is developing a structure that records and accounts all income and audit-trails all procedures for every type of expenditure;

Is developing a structure that requires of the executive to prepare monthly returns, which are made available, on demand, for viewing by members;

Is developing a structure that identifies competence gaps and prompts appropriate training.